Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

E46 (1999 - 2006) The fourth generation 3 Series (E46 chassis) was introduced in 1999 and set the standard for engineering and performance during it's years of production including being named to Car & Driver's 10 best list every one of those years! ! -- View the E46 Wiki

Have a 2003 BMW 325i - Automatic with 200,xxxkm, and I just got this car a few weeks ago.
I was wondering if the 0W30 German Castrol was good use for my car. When we had E39, we put that oil in the 530i, which was recommended.
I'm sorry to bring up another oil thread but I couldn't find a specific answer to my question, so I am here, to get your opinions.
Thanks

Been using it for the past 50K miles without any issues on my ZHP. Ymmv, but from my experience the oil burn is dependent on how hard you drive the car with these E46 when using the GC aka Castrol 0W30 European blend (Made in Germany if you look at the label in the back). Blackstone lab analysis of the GC oil has shown it's as thick as some 10w30 oils such as Mobil 1 (Made in USA) brands.

Been using it for the past 50K miles without any issues on my ZHP. Ymmv, but from my experience the oil burn is dependent on how hard you drive the car with these E46 when using the GC aka Castrol 0W30 European blend (Made in Germany if you look at the label in the back). Blackstone lab analysis of the GC oil has shown it's as thick as some 10w30 oils such as Mobil 1 (Made in USA) brands.

What you mean, how hard I drive ? I would think I would be at the mid-range level of hard driving, my brother on the other hand thinks its a rocket ship (22 years old,lol) so I would say he drives hard from time to time, when he gets to drive it.
Thanks guys !
A friend of mine told me to return mine, and get either 5w30 or 5w40, because the ow30 would burn to fast on a 200,000km+ car.

What you mean, how hard I drive ? I would think I would be at the mid-range level of hard driving, my brother on the other hand thinks its a rocket ship (22 years old,lol) so I would say he drives hard from time to time, when he gets to drive it.
Thanks guys !
A friend of mine told me to return mine, and get either 5w30 or 5w40, because the ow30 would burn to fast on a 200,000km+ car.

That all depends on how the car was maintained. Mobil 0-40w burns faster for me than castrol 5-30 and I'm at 132k

What you mean, how hard I drive ? I would think I would be at the mid-range level of hard driving, my brother on the other hand thinks its a rocket ship (22 years old,lol) so I would say he drives hard from time to time, when he gets to drive it.
Thanks guys !
A friend of mine told me to return mine, and get either 5w30 or 5w40, because the ow30 would burn to fast on a 200,000km+ car.

Hard accelerations every stoplight or sustained track like driving conditions- sustained WOT on every acceleration going to redline and sustaining high RPMs for the whole drive. An average daily drive doesn't sustain the RPMs for prolonged periods above 4K. During track driving, the avg RPM is sustained mostly above 4.5K+ RPMs to stay within the powerband most of the time and this is sustained for 20-30 minute sessions.

I have been using Castrol Euro 0w30 for quite some time now. I live in Florida and Tennessee. We see plenty of hot weather in both places. The car does well on this oil. It is BMW certified, and as I stated, I've not had any issues with consumption or lubrication. The car does not use any oil between changes (7500 mile).

Hard accelerations every stoplight or sustained track like driving conditions- sustained WOT on every acceleration going to redline and sustaining high RPMs for the whole drive. An average daily drive doesn't sustain the RPMs for prolonged periods above 4K. During track driving, the avg RPM is sustained mostly above 4.5K+ RPMs to stay within the powerband most of the time and this is sustained for 20-30 minute sessions.

Thanks a lot guys. live and drive in a place, where over population has become a huge concern. A lot of stop and go exist everyday, in my driving. However, I do not drive it like a track car, and maybe at most high rev the engine only from time to time.
What made me buy is the LL-01 certification, and this oil being made in Germany.
So far since we owned it, we have put castrol 5w40 and 5w30.
You guys are the best !!!

Please read the suggested threads, where the best always add value to those threads, either by pictures or by descriptions, so the next person with the same problem stands on your shoulders.
See also: E39 Bestlinks & How to easily find what you need